


These Sentimental Things

by awintersrose



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Daydreaming, M/M, Napping in the sunshine, Orochimaru should sleep more often, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 06:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16444580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awintersrose/pseuds/awintersrose
Summary: No one would believe it if they caught sight of him at rest, but the snake Sannin is not always as he seems, especially like this.





	These Sentimental Things

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Krikee and shipcat <3
> 
> Based on a word prompt - Meriggiare - to rest at noon, more likely in a shady spot outdoors

No one would believe it if they caught sight of him at rest, but the snake Sannin is not always as he seems, especially like this. His face is slack, soft, devoid of tension. In sleep he is free of cares, jaded ambition, and the burden of decades-old grief. Around them, the plum trees are in full bloom, fragrant blush-pink lace among the branches in the small bower where they have settled for a stolen clutch of noontime hours in an otherwise tumultuous and worry-laden time.

Hair like pooled ink falls over Dan’s lap, shining in the sunlight as gentle rays filter through the leaves, dappling shadows across their forms, illuminating and muting colors all at the same time. It nearly feels as though they are caught in a watercolor scene, a perfect moment suspended in this fanciful, almost liminal space that is only theirs. The doorway into another reality where this softness might never be interrupted.

Orochimaru’s brows draw tight and Dan wonders what his lover dreams. What dares to hurt him now, in the peace of his slumber, the one place where Dan cannot touch him? The one place where he cannot ease that which vexes him. Thankfully, the moment is gone as quickly as it arrived, and Dan finds himself grateful.

His dark haired lover has just come off a long stretch of lab work with little sleep, exacerbated by Dan’s absence due to a lengthy mission. Time runs differently for Orochimaru in the lab, it seems, and chiding him for it is never any use, so when a moment to cuddle turns into a nap in the sunshine, Dan can only hope it lasts as long as it may while they have a reprieve from responsibility.

It’s only been a month since Orochimaru and his teammates returned from the warfront in Amegakure, newly named as Konoha’s Sannin during a skirmish that could have very nearly cost them all their lives. Fortunately, Hanzo the Salamander held with a flair for the dramatic; either that or he was spent and close to exhaustion himself, thus finding a way to save face. At any rate, the reality is that their battle was the closest that the snake summoner has ever come to death, and the magnitude of this was all the more evident upon his return home. The day he asked Dan to move in with him. The night they made love for the first time.

War leaves its mark on shinobi, but their home has quickly become a sanctuary, and each moment they can spend together free of outward influence is something to be grasped with both hands. It won’t be long until one or both of them is called back to serve at the front, but that is not something Dan wants to think about right now, not with his lover sleeping so peacefully, here in the spring sunshine.

Instead, he thinks on sleepy morning tea times, stolen lunches, and firelit evenings. Of laughter, sarcastic conversation, and the sharing of stories; tall tales both true and fabled. Of intense spars, shy touches, milk-pale skin and aureate eyes that glimmer with inconceivable wit, sly mirth, and restrained joy; the sides of his lover that only he sees. If the rest of Konoha had any idea that their fierce snake Sannin were truly this beautiful soul beneath his tightly held veneer, Dan does not doubt that he’d have any shortage of competition for Orochimaru’s hand, or his attention.

For once, there is a chance for both their dreams to flourish in the form of family, and for old traditions to begin anew for the lone remnants of two forgotten clans. Orochimaru has already taken Dan to his family’s shrine, included him in various rites as a partner and a friend. Marriage is something that has gone unsaid in this time of war, but the Shimenawa mate for life, and Dan is well aware that he is as good as claimed. The proof has been in every interaction between them, the natural gravitation that pulls them to one another when things go wrong, when things go right, and for every pivotal moment in between.

Wind rustles through the trees as a pair of birds suddenly take flight, circling one another high into the endless azure sky until they disappear from sight. It’s as good an omen as any, and Dan cannot help but smile to himself, before closing his eyes and sighing softly as his fingers trace the satiny texture of Orochimaru’s jet black hair. He leans back against the tree trunk and dares to rest a bit himself, lulled by the softness here, surrounded by warmth and the sweet scent of plum blossoms.

Children’s voices ring in the distance, heralding the arrival of a genin team at the training ground beyond the tree line, and the beginning of the end to their midday escape. Dan opens his eyes and breathes deeply, looking down at Orochimaru one last time before he knows he will have to wake him, and a part of him is very tempted to continue to let him rest. But the serpent’s senses are as acute as ever, even in sleep, and within a single minute of the children’s arrival he stirs.

Hazy golden eyes blink up at Dan, slit pupils narrowing as Orochimaru adapts to full consciousness, slightly confused, unable to immediately recall how he ended up in such an undignified position. His gaze is immediately met by the turquoise depths of his lover’s and he senses the cool-water feel of Dan’s chakra melding with his own, the jagged edges filled in and rendered neutral. A slight smirk twists the edges of his lips upward.

“Were you really watching me sleep? How terribly sentimental, Kato.” Orochimaru snarks, unable to keep the ghost of a smile from making its way to his eyes.

Dan sighs and brushes a lock of hair away from his cheek. “As if you don’t do the same every morning when you think I’m still asleep.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading - I do hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please do let me know your thoughts via kudos or a comment if you can. Your input really keeps me going!
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr: [awintersrose.tumblr.com](http://awintersrose.tumblr.com)


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